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Ranged Boulder Attack
This article deals specifically with Ranged '''Boulder' Attacks. For an overview of how Ranged Attacks work in general, see Ranged Attack.'' A Ranged Boulder Attack is one of three kinds of Ranged Attacks available in Master of Magic. When a unit is capable of making a Ranged Boulder Attack, its details panel will show the strength of the attack as a series of . The same icon is used on this wiki to represent Ranged Boulder Attacks and/or their strength. Ranged Boulder Attacks are often very strong in numerical terms, capable of piercing through heavy armor very easily. Furthermore, many units possessing this type of attack also possess the Wall Crusher ability which allows them to tear down enemy City Walls during siege combat. Ranged Boulder Attacks do suffer from penalties based on the distance to the target: the further away the target, the higher the penalty. Thus they are significantly less useful at long range. However, for some units the maximum size of the penalty is limited, making them almost as useful at long range as they are up-close. Finally, Ranged Boulder Attacks do not trigger any of the target's immunities. Thus, no target is really safe from Ranged Boulder Attacks, and only extremely-heavy armor has any chance of averting their damage. Like all other Ranged Attacks, Ranged Boulder Attacks may only be used a limited number of times per battle. This number is displayed in the unit's details panel. Ranged Boulder Attacks are somewhat uncommon. All Catapults and Warships, which are available to several races, possess a strong Ranged Boulder Attack. 2 unique racial units also possess this ability, as well as 3 different Fantastic Creatures. There are no Heroes who possess a Ranged Boulder Attack. Ranged Boulder Attack Properties A is one of three different types of Ranged Attack in Master of Magic, with the other two being Ranged Missile Attacks and Ranged Magical Attacks. There are several important differences between each of these attack types. The advantages and disadvantages of Ranged Boulder Attacks are explained below - for an overall comparison, see Ranged Attack. No Immunities A Ranged Boulder Attack will never trigger any of its target's immunities. Magic Immunity, Missile Immunity and Weapon Immunity are useless against this attack. This gives Ranged Boulder Attacks an important advantage when fighting an army possessing such units. Furthermore, due to the relative strength of most Ranged Boulder Attacks, which for some units exceeds , very few units will have sufficient armor to block all of the the attack delivers. Only well-armored Heroes, powerful Fantastic Creatures, and units with several Unit Enchantments increasing their score have any chance of avoiding this damage entirely. Thus, when it is important to inflict heavy damage on well-defended targets, Ranged Boulder Attackers are a good bet. Distance Penalties On the other hand, suffer from an important disadvantage that seriously affects the way they are used in combat, especially when compared to the simpler (and sometimes deadlier) : they suffer penalties based on distance to the target. The penalty equals for every 3 tiles of distance between the shooter and the target. Therefore, the shooter suffers at a distance of 3 tiles, and at a distance of 6 tiles. The game's original manual indicates that is the largest penalty possible, but the Strategy Guide implies that the bonus could be even higher (i.e. at 9 tiles, and so on). At a distance of 1 or 2 tiles from the target (i.e. either adjacent to the shooter or one empty tile apart), the shooter suffers no penalty at all. As a result of this penalty, will sometimes want to close the distance with their target before spending any of their ammunition. This is particularly important when the target is in fact heavily-armored, requiring the shot to inflict more hits to increase the chances of getting through that armor. Against softer units, a may nonetheless prefer to quickly expend its ammunition despite the long range. The same principle is also important to remember when fighting against enemy : if you wish to minimize damage, keep your units as far away from the enemy Boulder troops until they've depleted all of their ammunition. After that you can close the distance more safely. Supporting Abilities Many possess important Unit Abilities that are specifically tailored to improve the usefulness of their attack. First and foremost, more than half of these units possess the Wall Crusher ability, which enables them to take out enemy City Walls at a distance. The chance of bringing down a wall with a Ranged Attack is set at 25% per shot (regardless of the actual strength of the attack). This is the main reason to create Catapults and bring them along when expecting siege combat. Secondly, several possess the Long Range ability. This puts a hard limit on the distance penalties the unit can suffer when attacking distant targets. The limit is exactly , which means that a target at 3 tiles is as hard to hit as a target way across on the other side of the battlefield. Thus, units with this ability will often unleash their early in the battle, and do not need to risk approaching the enemy in order to get a good damage output. Units with Ranged Boulder Attacks The game contains exactly 7 units that possess a Ranged Boulder Attack, though several of these are widely available to most empires. These 7 units are the only units that possess such an attack: no unit may acquire a Ranged Boulder Attack under any circumstance if it does not have one by default. Normal Units 4 of the Ranged Boulder Attack units in the game are Normal Units from various Races. Among these, 2 are standardized units - the Catapult and Warship - which are available to a number of Races. The other two are unique racial units: the Air Ship and Steam Cannon. All 4 are , but possess a strong attack to compensate. All 4 units also have plenty of ammunition for their Ranged Boulder Attacks, capable of firing at least 10 shots per battle - much more than most Ranged Magical Attackers and slightly more than most Ranged Missile Attackers. The Warship is unique in this regard, since it has no real limit on the number of times it can fire - making it extremely powerful in the hands of a capable player. Normal Units equipped with or receive a bonus of or (respectively) to their Ranged Boulder Attack. Those weapons as well as will also give a bonus to Boulder Attacks. Normal Units acquire Experience over time, which slowly increases the strength of their Ranged Boulder Attack. Some can become surprisingly powerful by the time they reach Level 4 ("Elite") or higher. The table below lists a unit's strength when it is still at its lowest with no bonuses whatsoever. Fantastic Units 3 Fantastic Units may make Ranged Boulder Attacks. All 3 have the Wall Crusher ability. Fantastic Units with a Ranged Boulder Attack are very limited in terms of ammunition, capable of performing only 2 of these attacks during each battle. Fortunately, all 3 are very powerful Melee Attackers as well, and can switch to a Melee Attack once their shots are depleted. All 3 of these units are also fast enough to enable them to close the distance with the enemy while firing, thus potentially negating the distance penalty and inflicting more on their opponents, before rushing in for Melee. Spells and Abilities affecting Ranged Boulder Attacks There are some abilities and spells that only affect and not , namely: Flame Blade, Metal Fires, Weakness, Guardian Wind, Missile Immunity, Warp Wood, Eldritch Weapon. Catapults and Warships will also ignore Weapon Immunity. Category:Attack Types